Type of Girl?

I guess in this civilised society, being beautiful doesn't guarantee someone to be The Dream Girl. I am not trying to be shallow. I know physical attributes count, especially for the first few seconds. However, as time goes by, good personality counts more than just look.

As I was grilled by my friends what type of girl I like, I couldn't give a satisfactory answer on the spot, but I did think about that question and here is my answer.

I like a girl who has confidence. If she has the body of Britney Spears, that's great. However if what she has is the body of a pregnant Britney Spears, so what? Be confident. Please don't continuously tell us how fat you are.

1st case: If you are not fat at all. There is nothing more annoying in this world than a perfectionist.

2nd case: If you are indeed fat like an obese pig. We know that like, very well. Hence repeating so many times that you are fat won't help.


I love smart and knowledgeable girls. It's indeed frustrating to chat with someone with very little knowledge to begin with. Well, I don't expect someone to have the brain of Einstein, but please don't tell us:

1. That Tiger Woods is an animal.
2. That Barack Obama has some blood relation with Osama Bin Laden.
3. That Manchester United is the best soccer club in the world. No, it isn't! Juventus is. Haha I am being subjective =P

or such stupid statement like those. I know not everyone is blessed with smart brain, but some people really give up trying to upgrade themselves.

I love a girl with some ambitions. People without ambition bore me to death.

And lastly, funny girls definitely get my admiration. Someone who can crack up some smart jokes or laugh at themselves sometimes (Come on, noone is perfect, so why must we be so tensed-up with our imperfection?). I think being around someone with good sense of humour is indeed a blessing.

I want to end this post by quoting a very beautiful prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference."

Skin colour, bone structure, family background, place of birth - those things we can't change. I myself have a fair skin no matter how hard I try (I did kayaking for 9 straight hours under hot sun, and my skin didn't get any tanner), and as a matter of fact, I had accepted that reality long time ago.

Some things in life we can change - our future, our potential life partner, etc. Why not we focus on those things instead?

Indeed, someone who can love herself unconditionally is stunningly very attractive. I spent 3 full years waiting for this type of girl after finally gave up. Even until now, I still insist that the 3-year is "the time worth spent."

Eat these and Happy Lose Weight! (hint: Oranges are inside)

Wow, knowledge really IS power. I know long time ago that a piece of cake provides calorie equivalent to 4 big apples although the later definitely cures hunger better than the former. However, this new piece of knowledge absolutely shocked me. I was totally blown away!

Ready to hear this piece of good news?

Some foods are actually negative calorie foods; means: Energy needed for our body to process it is more than energy that particular food provides to the body. Means: The more you eat it, the more you lose weight. If that's not a piece of good news, I don't know what is.

Anyways, this is the list of that wonder group of food.

List of Negative Calorie Foods

asparagus beet broccoli green cabbage carrot cauliflower celery root celery chicory hot chili peppers cucumber dandelion endive garden cress garlic green beans zucchini

apple cranberries grapefruit lemon mango orange pineapple raspberries strawberries tangerine lamb's lettuce lettuce onion papaya radishes spinach turnip

Well, so you don't need to stick with just that boring spinach or onion. Pick and choose and let me know if you are ready to buy smaller size of jeans.

Btw, if you don't know how to start, don't you notice that orange is inside the list? So why not eating those oranges someone gave you for Chinese New Year?

Source: here and here

In the process to find my own Hillary Clinton

It really bothers me when someone asked me about this girl or that girl... It's not that I am too choosy when it comes to dating. But seriously speaking, I am no longer a 15 or 16 year-old teenager whom you can spot at Bugis Junction buying funky clothes, or at Cineleisure watching movies. I am a grown soon-to-be 23 year old. Working full-time, with mountain-high ambition to be a millionaire before 30. Yup that's me.

I have learned the hard way how a bad choice of girlfriend can potentially be dangerous for my wallet, health and soul... and decided that picking a girlfriend is a serious matter, which requires deep thoughts and some self-reflection - and ah yes, professional advice.

And mind you, a girlfriend is not just someone who can accompany you for dinner, movies, and such. She must share what you believe in, and must be able to support you (and you support her), believe that you can achieve whatever you want... and work with you to get what you want (and you help her to get what she wants).

Behind every successful man, there is a supportive woman. When Bill Clinton did some affairs with Monica Lewinsky, he better thanked God that he has a wife like Hillary. She knew Bill was wrong, but she accepted it with a big heart. That saved Bill's reputation and until now, Bill is still one of the most respected US presidents ever despite his mistake. Hillary also has a very successful career in politics, became senator and almost made it to US' number one. Now she is the Secretary of State. I can't imagine if Hillary couldn't forgive Bill.... cried, asked for divorce... ah, loser!

And before I find my own Hillary Clinton, I guess being single is ultimately the best choice. How if I can't find my Hillary? No worries, I don't mind settling with my own Michelle Obama. Oh, can she dance! =)

Pictures + Updates!!!

We were at TCC Orchard. I was with 1 guy and 1 girl who will make perfect ambassadors for anti-aging cream or supplement (I am totally jealous, how can you guys be so forever young??!)


UPDATES:
NTU students, International Games 2009 (IG2009 in short) is coming, bigger and better. With 14 sports and recreation games (including tennis, DOTA, Counter Strike, athletics, and badminton among others...), I am sure this is gonna be the best IG EVER!



I was asked by its Chairperson, Clement Zichri Ang to be the emcee for opening and closing ceremony (which is just 1 day before I fly to Guang Zhou on 16 Feb). My partner for this year's IG would be Linsien, a lovely young lady. This year's IG will be my third consecutive year I become the emcee after IG2008 and IG2007 on which I was the vice-chairperson.

If you haven't registered for this event, you can do so here. A free T-shirt will be given out and hey, I don't know the price of that T-shirt, but I know the price of HAVING FUN is simply priceless.

Guys, you really must come to this event. There will be lots of freebies, lots of fun, lots of beautiful gals and handsome guys.... and most importantly, it's not everyday you can see me on stage emceeing and in court playing badminton =P

See you there!

Negotiation skill is an art

Sometimes I think that I am blessed with excellent negotiation skill ("blessed" is a humble way to say it, in fact, I worked on it for years.)

From free spa voucher to over $120,000 of sponsorship money, from going to eating place I want to flexible working hours. The most recent one is when I asked for additional gold medals for a competition I join (from 8 medals to 18, what I need is ONE E-mail, that's it =))

I get them all. I get almost everything I want, exactly the way I want them. What I need to do is just asking (everything is just a wink away =D).


Some people call it manipulation, but I beg to differ. I think negotiation skill is not the same as manipulation. It's a fine art. It's giving people what they want in exchange with what we want. People want to feel good (through recognition, praise, etc) and in the same time, they are afraid to appear stupid and powerless.

And that makes me totally irresistible *wink*

Kaka: I listened to my heart to stay at Milan

Kaka says he has 'listened to his heart' in deciding to stay at AC Milan and rejecting a world-record breaking move to Manchester City.

The Premier League club's audacious bid to sign the Brazilian star in a £100million-plus deal collapsed on Monday night after Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi confirmed Kaka was staying at the San Siro.

City later claimed that they had withdrawn from the negotiations, but the player himself made it clear that he made the decision of own accord.

"I feel great in a place where everybody loves me and I'm very happy to stay," he told Italian TV. "My family were great allowing me to take the decision independently. I never argued with my father, as somebody wrote. I have listened to my heart as many people advised me to do.

"At Milan there are many wonderful people like [Berlusconi] and Leonardo, who is much more than a director for me, he is a real friend.

"I have never asked for a raise in my salary and I will never do. Milan were always nice to me raising my salary whenever they felt it was fair to do it. I can only thank them for this.

"After Saturday's game many people showed me their support, I have received drawings by kids trying to convince me to stay. It was wonderful. I remember when I left Sao Paolo some fans protested against me, here they all stand by my side instead.

"I'm currently celebrating this decision at home with a couple of friends. I'm a religious person and I believe the path God decides for us is not always the most logical one.

"Milan had never considered any offer for me in the past. This time it was different and I had to think about it but then I decided to stay. My team-mates were incredible. They all tried to tell me something and stay close to me in this period.

"I haven't been a Manchester City player not even for one minute."

Kaka also told AC Milan TV that he had prayed to God to find the right decision, saying: ''I believe I have made the right choice. To have gone to Manchester City could have been a great project but in the past few days I have prayed a lot to understand what the right team would be and in the end I have decided to remain here.

''I don't want anything else, I just want to be well and be happy in the place where people love me.

''From this story I have understood how people love me at Milan, the fans and my team-mates have helped me make this choice.''

Former Middlesbrough star Juninho said Kaka, whom he played with for Brazil, was more interested in medals than money.

Juninho told the Daily Telegraph: ''He will want to be the FIFA world player of the year again and that will mean he wants to play for a team that is winning titles and competing in the Champions League.

''Everyone knew that it would not only be money that Kaka was concerned about. He would have wanted to be confident about the plan for the future at Manchester City. He would want big players to be involved. It's not just about the money.

''He would have wanted to see what opportunities there were at Manchester City and decide what he wants because to be honest for them to become a club like AC Milan it would take a long, long time. It would not have taken three or four years but a lot longer for them to become as strong as AC Milan.''

Source: soccernet.com

Kaka, My Kaka...

In this materialistic world where money can turn everything around, it's indeed very relieving to see someone who is not only blessed with incredible talent, but also a heart made of gold, a super quality loyalty, and an unshakable faith in God.

...

Since when a "bye" is good so people call it "goodbye"?

*background music: Air Supply's Goodbye"



By this time next month, I will be in Guang Zhou.



Au revoir, take care, miss me like crazy... because I will miss you all!




Hug, Kiss, Love,

The one and only Benny Pandowo

Love Quote of The Day

"When you love someone, let her go. If she comes back, she is meant to be yours forever. If she doesn't, wish her all the happiness...

... Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offense.

... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things"

Life Irony / Ironi Hidup

There are millions of people do abortion, and millions others will do anything to be able to give birth to a child.

Ada jutaan orang melakukan aborsi, dan jutaan lainnya bersedia melakukan apapun supaya bisa melahirkan anak.

Some people only say "I love you" during wedding and funeral.

Beberapa orang hanya pernah berkata "Saya mencintaimu" saat pernikahan dan upacara pemakaman.

It takes tens of years to build trust, and seconds to destroy it... and we only need suspicion, not facts.

Untuk membangun kepercayaan dibutuhkan puluhan tahun, dan hanya beberapa detik untuk menghancurkannya... dan yang kita butuhkan hanyalah kecurigaan, bukan fakta.

If people put so much emphasis on first love, why only few first loves turn into marriage?

Kalau orang begitu menekankan cinta pertama, mengapa hanya sedikit cinta pertama yang berlanjut sampai pernikahan?

We realize how much we need something after we lose it.

Kita menyadari betapa kita membutuhkan sesuatu hanya setelah kita kehilangannya.

People realize something is wrong, but do it anyway.

Orang menyadari bahwa sesuatu itu salah, tetapi tetap melakukannya

In many parts of the world, the word "CHRISTmas" is much more popular than "CHRIST".

Di banyak tempat di dunia, kata "Natal" jauh lebih populer dibanding kata "Kristus"

Some people try too hard to impress someone who actually doesn't give a damn.

Beberapa orang berusaha terlalu keras untuk mengambil hati seseorang yang sebenarnya sama sekali tidak peduli.

In sports competition, the difference between $100,000 and $10,000 is sometimes just 0.01 sec.

Di perlombaan olahraga, perbedaan antara (hadiah) $100,000 dan $10,000 kadang hanyalah 0,01 detik.

When we are still students, we want to go to work soon. And after we start working, we realize that indeed schooldays are the happiest days.

Ketika kita masih belajar, kita ingin cepat-cepat kerja. Dan setelah kita mulai kerja, kita menyadari bahwa masa sekolah adalah masa yang terindah.

Some 18-year old carry themselves as if they are 30, and some 30-year old just never seem to

grow up.

Beberapa orang yang berumur 18 tahun bisa membawa diri mereka seperti umur 30 tahun, dan beberapa orang yang berumur 30 tahun sepertinya tidak pernah tambah dewasa.

We celebrate our birthdays with great parties without realizing that we are 1 year closer to death.

Kita merayakan ulang tahun besar-besaran tanpa menyadari bahwa kita 1 tahun lebih dekat ke kematian.

Some parents wait for more than 10 years for the next "I love you" their children say.

Beberapa orang tua menunggu lebih dari 10 tahun untuk kalimat "saya sayang kamu" selanjutnya dari anak-anak mereka.

We treat some friends like family members and some family members like total strangers.

Kita memperlakukan beberapa teman seperti anggota keluarga, dan memperlakukan anggota keluarga seperti orang asing.

We work so hard to accumulate wealth and neglecting our health, and in our old days, we use our wealth just to restore our health.
Kita bekerja keras mencari uang dan mengabaikan kesehatan kita, dan di masa tua kita, kita menghabiskan uang hanya untuk mengembalikan kesehatan kita.

And the most ironic of all...

Beauty fades, but dumbness remains

Kecantikan memudar, tetapi kebodohan adalah abadi.

By: Benny Pandowo

My Friend series: The one and only one Kartika Widianti

It's great to be my friends, you will get the chance to be formally introduced (Read: humiliated). You can read my previous My Friend series at my older posts.


Andy Warhol said "In the future everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame". For this special friend of mine, your 15 minute might be now. Enjoy!



BIODATA

Name : Kartika Widianti (pronounced as Car-Tee-Kuh Wee-Dee Aunty) or Tika in short.

At our "honeymoon", we were tourists in our own country =D

Age : 24 or 36 or 48. She told me her Chinese horoscope sign is Ox, so her age is either 24 or 36 (or 48 maybe?) this year, not easy to guess huh?

Sign : everyone is welcome

Hobby : shopping, bitching, reading magazine

Hometown: same as Ronald Haryanto, Purwokerto (a city, famous for its maids =D)



FAVOURITE:

- Food : Anything with 3 spoonfuls of chili

- Band : The Ting Tings



- Magazine: Cosmo and such

- Shops : TOPSHOP, ZARA, River Island, Ted Baker, and the mightiest of all, Marc Jacobs




- Film : gay porn

- Personal Trainer : California Fitness' TANK

- Actor : Benny Pandowo.

- Friend : Benny Pandowo. Her crush, Yulia Tudy comes second.

- Blogger : Benny Pandowo. In the 2nd and 3rd position: Perez Hilton and Bryanboy.

OKAY, I think it's not fair if one person dominates the list although he deserves it.


QUOTABLE QUOTES:

- "Just like CK underwear when it comes to magazine, nothing comes between me and my magazine."


- "I think he is gay" - a standard comment for a handsome hearthrob who hasn't married after 30 years old



- "I don't like chinese movies, I can't stand the way they talk"

- "That boy is very noisy, he deserves to DIE"

- "He looks good in that piece of clothes.. but I think he looks better if he is naked"


and the ever-famous....


- "Majorly infatuated with........" (hey, why not make it patented?)

My 2 cents about Religion

Disclaimer: Opinions I mention below are just my personal opinions. I do not represent any religious group whatsoever.


I was not born in a catholic family although my 2 brothers are both catholic. We went to catholic school and as the result of it, we became catholic. Until now, both my parents are still not catholic, and although my mother has not been baptised yet, she prays very often everyday, maybe more than what I do in a few days.

Despite that seemingly very normal process of becoming a catholic, I believe in God and I believe that nothing is coincidental in this world. I believe that God has planned that I went to catholic school and as a result, becoming a catholic.

My spiritual life has experienced ups and downs (although the "ups" are not very fantastic I must say). I behave like what a catholic usually do (not what he should do). We attend church to avoid feeling guilty, we seldom or never read the bible, and we don't do much religious activities besides going to church. In short, I think I wouldn't be the first person anyone would think of someone very religious, although I don't think I would be the last also.

Although I have never been too close to God, I know I love Him, He loves me, and I can speak to Him whenever I need to. Borrowing a banking term, maybe I am God's privilege customer (so are you my friend, He never does mass-market banking and His call hotline doesn't require you to wait for 1 hour, talking to that stupid machine operator.)

Some of the happiest and most successful people I know are very religious. Some of them are very active in church, some of them in mosque, and some of them are Buddhists at its best. I believe there is a place in our heart that can be filled by God only, and not by money, car, or sex. I used to read bible everyday and I reckon those days are the happiest days in my life although ironically, during that time, I experienced some of my darkest days with lots of problems and whenever I saw from level 6 at my dormitory, I wanted to commit suicide.

One day, that suicide thought appeared again in my mind, and as usual, I refused to cry. Boys don't cry. However, I felt that God touched my heart so strongly that I cried and couldn't stop it. I felt God talked to me..

"Ben, I know it has been hard for you, but those problems appear not without any reason whatsoever. I want to prepare you to be stronger than ever before. I want to see you touch souls and lives, and be my witness. You can cry, in fact you should cry if you think that will make you better. But don't give up Ben. I am with you. ALWAYS."

I know I may not be the best person to talk about God, but if you have experienced something like that, it's difficult not to talk about it. I know in daily conversation, we are not supposed to talk much about religion. People nowadays don't want to be too involved in religion, maybe because they think that religion is old-fashioned and people don't want to be called hypocrite because they don't do what they preach. However, I personally believe that we don't need to be a Saint to talk about God, and I make my stand clear, I CHOSE TO be baptised in catholic church 10 years ago and for me, that means promise. Promise to serve God, promise to be different, and promise to answer my calling.

I know some people don't like when I blog about something religious, but ladies and gentlemen, this is the nuts and bolts of my life with all the good things and imperfections. I am not interested in pleasing everyone and be popular. It's always the true intention of this blog - to write about myself in the most honest way: no make-up, no photoshop, no mask. This is my life and in case you don't know: in my life, I am in-charge.

I find high-heel shoes to be very ridiculous

Dear Diary, I always find it very uncomfortable when I see a woman wearing high-heel shoes so uncomfortably that it makes people around them feel very uncomfortable. Well, some gals wear it so stunningly elegant, but we all know there must be an exception in everything.

Gals, why must you torture yourself by wearing that kind of ridiculous shoes and walk like a robot, just in this case, a high-maintenance one?

Well, I know everyone wants to look pretty and tall. However, COME ON. Is it just me or everyone will see one's height THEN SUBTRACTING WITH THE HEIGHT OF THE HEEL, then get an idea of how tall someone is. So, don't ya think wearing high-heel shoes is a bit unnecessary? And somemore, expensive?

And please, when you are as tall as or even taller than your boyfriend, don't wear high-heel shoes for the sake of your boyfriend's ego. We men have high ego (for me, it's super high). So, can you gals please appear a bit short, a bit stupid, and a bit weak in front of us? We will definitely appreciate your kind heart.

Teman-Teman Saya Memang Unik (part 3)

Kadang bingung juga yah punya temen yang:

1. Cowok autis penyuka masak dan bercocok tanam
2. Bitchy Banci, seksualitasnya diragukan, penggemar felem bokep gay
3. Haram muharam. Spesialis gaya menjijikan saat dipoto
4. Babi hamil --> lebih haram soalnya hamil di luar nikah
5. Jayus --> Well, ini yang paling normal setelah saya

Teman-teman saya memang unik. Saya sih normal-normal sajah ^^

An Evening at The Daily Mass

As I was about to stand to read the bible at the church, I looked at the churchgoers. It was my first time becoming a lector (person who reads the bible, hymn, and the Alleluia). I have done lots of public speaking in the past, so I was not too nervous (of course, the nervous feeling was still there). I prayed to God to give me a calm heart, so my voice later won't shake too much. So that even if I feel nervous, people won't be able to see it.


Then I heard God said to me.

"Ben, thanks so much for volunteering your time. I am very proud of you, but remember, this is MY "show", not YOURS."

Ouch.


What was I thinking? I only thought of doing well in the bible reading, so I could speak clearly and ultimately, WOWed the people with my perfect English. Is that even important at all? This is a mass, and at mass, God's name is glorified, not my name.


As I stood, I prayed to God again, but this time was different. "God, I prayed so that Your words I am going to read can touch people's hearts and lives."


I was still nervous and my hands were shaking, but I know in my heart, I have done my best and I am sure God knows it.

Anyways, this is the bible passage I read.

A reading from the first letter of St John

We are to love,
because God loved us first.
Anyone who says, ‘I love God’,
and hates his brother,
is a liar,
since a man who does not love the brother that he can see
cannot love God, whom he has never seen.
So this is the commandment that he has given us,
that anyone who loves God must also love his brother.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ
has been begotten by God:
and whoever loses the Father that begot him
loves the child whom he begets.
We can be sure that we love God’s children
if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us;
this is what loving God is –
keeping his commandments;
and his commandments are not difficult,
because anyone who has been begotten by God
has already overcome the world;
this is the victory over the world –
our faith.

The word of the Lord.





God loves you, and me, and them.

Gosip yuk gosip....

"Eh lu tahu gak Vi kalau si Mayang jadian ama si Bambang?"

"Ihhh... yang bener luuuu? Masak sih???"

"Lu kayak gak tahu reputasi gue, emang gue pernah salah bikin gosip?"

"Ya gak pernah sih, tapi gila aja yahh masak si Mayang mau ya sama si Bambang."

"Biasa aja lah, si Mayang paling juga bentar lagi bosen pacaran ama si Bambang."

"Gimana lu bisa tahu? SOTOY yah?"

"MATIII DEHHHH... LU SERIUS GAK TAHU KALAU SI BAMBANG ITU GAY????? SATU SEKOLAH UDAH TAU KALEEEEE!"

.... *speechless*

"Eh, terus nurut lu apa yang bikin si Mayang mau pacaran sama si Bambang kalau dia tahu kalau Bambang itu pecinta pria?"

"MATIIIII DEHHHHHH..... LU SERIUS GAK TAHU KALAU SI MAYANG ITU MATA DUITAN???? SATU SEKOLAH UDAH TAHU KALEEEEEEEE!"

... *speechless*

"Ah, cowok tajir macem Bambang mah banyak non, mana perlu cari yang udah pasti hombreng??"

"MATTIIIIIIII DEHHHHHHH..... LU SERIUS GAK TAHU KALAU SI BAMBANG ITU GUOBLOGGGGHHNYA MINTA AMPYUN, DIA COWOK PALING GAMPANG BUAT DITIPU!!! SATU SEKOLAH UDAH TAHU KALEEEEEEEEEE!!!"






Buat teman-teman sayah inisial T, Y, dan I, happy gossiping gals! =P


NB: Daripada menggosip, gue sih pilih digosipin saja. Gosipin gih gue dengan Angelina Jolie, biar harga stock gue naik setelah rendah banget gara-gara financial crisis.

A Cuppa Earl Grey Tea in The Morning

I used to think that in life, there are only 2 options:
- I get what I want by default
- I get what I want by effort

You know the similarity? Yup, I get what I want, exactly the way I want it. When? When I want it.

However, as I grow older, I realize one thing.

Sometimes in life we need to wait. Success doesn't come overnight, character is not built in one day, and love doesn't grow in one or two movie sessions.

Sometimes we wait and wait and wait, and nothing happens. That's called fate my friend. We are just not meant to have that thing, and that's okay. When we look back, don't you realize... How much have we grown in strength and personality as the result of waiting? For me, that's a lot. A LOT. A LOT.

*Thanks to some of the people in my past, I now believe that BITCHES do exist, thanks to you*

Quoting Steve Jobs, life can only be understood backwards, but it can be done only forwards. How true is that?


For me at the moment, as part of my New Year's resolution, I want to listen to my inner voice more. Sometimes, somehow I already know that something shouldn't be done and when I did that, my inner voice shouted, cried, and objected. However, I still did it. I was not happy after doing that thing. I think God (or whatever your higher power is) has already put that inner voice to guide us, to do "supposed to be the right thing", and we might end up doing the right thing (or probably not).

But don't you realize, when we follow our heart, we are happier?

I Cooked!!!

Yes, I finally cooked something for the first time since... last year? *can't remember, too long already*

None of my family members is gifted with cooking skill, so it's not my fault to be a terrible cook =D

Nevertheless, we finally managed to cook something.

Yay, so excited!!!

A proud us

Our masterpiece - black pepper chicken. I know it doesn't look very pretty, but it does taste delicious

supposed to be Foo Yung Hai



Getting fatter after eating - who cares??!


Lady boss and her two bodyguards




Nasty pose




If you worry about my health after eating those foods, don't worry, I am still alright haha....

Marriage Test Drive

My friend and I finally have something really in common, we say Yes! to Marriage Test Drive. Woot!

Before we buy a car, we always do a Test Drive, to know the car condition better. Of course the car salesman can easily describe about the car in detail, but the best way to understand the car is to sit on it, drive it a few rounds. Why? Because that's what we are going to do with the car - driving it.

However, the supposed-to-be smartest species on earth created something funny called marriage. They put 2 humans in one cage called a house, and hopefully they can live together forever happily ever after. And soon after the $15,000 Europe honeymoon, the wife will shout "I CAN'T BELIEVE I MARRY AN ASSHOLE!!!!" and the husband will continue watching soccer on TV - "Oh Whatever, You think I care, you obese gorilla?".

Sounds familiar?

I know countless of cases of divorce just because the couple don't think they are made for each other. And the sad thing is... the husband and wife just realize about that AFTER their marriage (of course, otherwise they won't call it divorce, silly me.)

And you know the best part? The couple realize that they are not meant to be together just DAYS, or probably MONTHS after they get married.


That leads me to the advantage of Marriage Test Drive - to know whether we should be together in the first place. If after the Marriage Test Drive we simply can't live together, no hard feeling - move on, life goes on. It's as simple as that.

Wait... probably some of you will argue with me. Why can't we just have dating? We can know each other also... Well, I wish. But the reality is... the person we see at the other side of restaurant table is not the same as the person who lives, sleeps, and cooks at home. Come on, although I believe in dating we should be ourselves, how many of us are really "ourselves" with all our bad habit like eating with sound, not walking straight and such. At least in dating we try to be "us at our best" if not being another person altogether. And we all know, faking something is tiring. We can't fake all the time - 20, 30, 40 years down the road. One day, a bastard will be tired to pretend to be a gentleman.

So... why not spending probably 6 months together in one house or maybe 1 room... to see whether we should go further into marriage or not. Some people will still be able to fake themselves for 6 straight months (they should win an Oscar, or at least be nominated for it). However, for most of us, 6 month-period is just too long not to be ourselves, and ultimately, we can see each other's character at the very core.


And living together will definitely portray another matter - SEX (OK, don't be a hypocrite). Well, I will leave it to each individual, whether the so-called Test Drive will include this or not. I personally feel that sex should be done after marriage.


What do you think? :)

I Wanna Wake Up With You

I wanna wake up with you
I wanna be there when you open your eyes
I want you to be
The first thing that I see(yeah)
I wanna wake up with you

I wanna lay by your side
I wanna feel every beat of your heart
throughout the night
I wanna hold you tight (yeah)
I wanna wake up with you

All the love inside me has been sleeping
Waiting for the right one to come along
You can share the love that I've been keeping, baby
You can put the music to my song

I wanna wake up with you
I wanna reach out and know that you're there
I want you to be
The first thing that I see (yeah)
I wanna wake up with you

Do-do-do-do-do-do
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do
i want you to be
the first thing i see(yeah)
'cuz i wanna wake up with you

all the love inside me has been sleeping
waiting for the right one to come along
you can share the love that i've been keeping , baby
you can put the music to my song

i wanna wake up with you
i wanna reach out and know that your there
i want you to be
the first thing that i see, (yeah)
i wanna wake up with you

i want you to be
the first thing that i see(yeah) repeatx2

Majorly Infatuated With: The Duchess and Keira Knightley

I think in Hollywood, there 2 types of beauty. First, is the "sexy, naughty, bitchy" kinda beauty, and it's easy to give examples: Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, Pam Anderson.

The second type of Hollywood beauty is the classic beauty, and I won't hesitate to propose Keira Knightley as the leading authority. I am struggling to find the other examples. Well, Nicole Kidman? Kate Winslet?

Anyways, I don't think Saul Dibb could ever find better actor than Ms Knightley when it comes to acting as a princess. She is stunningly beautiful and classy. I never find History lesson to be very interesting, but thanks to this film I now think History is actually quite interesting.

The story is about a duchess who was struggling whether she would choose her true love or remained married with the duke and raised her children. Finally, she did what every good mother should do: Children come first.

I think if she were to leave her family and choose to pursue what her mother called as "instant gratification", she would be called selfish and such. I know some of you might disagree with me and saying that we should by all means pursue our true love. But I think life is about striking the best possible solution in imperfect circumstances. Sometimes we need to sacrifice something so that everyone ultimately will be benefited, and Georgiana did just that. She was able to raise her children and Charles Grey became Prime Minister.

Digging deeper, I reflected that some people were born with the silver spoon, like Duke of Devonshire. Some people work his way up and ultimately become Prime Minister like Charles Grey. It's not what you were born as, it's what you choose to be.

Enaknya jadi Babi

Zaman sudah berubah, semenjak pemerintah mengesahkan undang-undang perbabian di Indonesia dan sekitarnya.

Dahulu kala saat saya masih muda *uhuk uhuk...*, babi cuman dipekerjakan, dimakan, dan kadang-kadang diperkosa kalau ada orang yang sudah ngebet dan tidak ada manusia atau binatang lain yang lebih menggairahkan.


Namun sekarang sudah nggak lagi bung.. Babi juga manusiaaaaaa (lho?)
Babi sekarang kerjaannya: Tidur, makan, shopping, dan pergi nge-gym kalau sudah gendut.

Enaknya jadi babi!


Life is beautiful....................... hoammmm tidur lagi yah ngantukk zzzzzzzz grok grok grok nguik nguik nguik

Random Pictures...

Steamboat

@ Mustafa, testing the camera

With Yulia @ Changi. We were going to Turkmenistan to feed the hungry children. However, we decided that we should feed ourselves first, so we went to Popeye.

With Tika at Vivocity before Chirstmas

COUNTDOWN AT THE ESPLANADE

Wish you all a great 2009!!!


SENTOSA OUTING

The guy in red is going to get married next year, can't believe it right? He is just 23 with boyish look. OH, the guy in green short is nowhere near marriage, poor him.

Me - in solo action

Me and the gals

Full team

Full team again, we finally got the seat after so long

OMGOSH, a beautiful scenery


SONG OF THE SEA

What a performance!